
This guide explains 5 tips for you how to avoid the pitfalls you may encounter when purchasing lingerie from suppliers - underwear from a practical B2B sourcing perspective, helping brands reduce sampling risk, control quality, and make faster purchasing decisions.
When purchasing lingerie from a supplier, it's important to be aware of the pitfalls that can occur during the process. By following these five simple steps, you can avoid these common mistakes and ensure a smooth sourcing process.
1. Do a good background check on the reputation of your new supplier
Talk directly to the company
Online video to learn about the factory
Let local suppliers you've worked with before help understand forensics
Key Insights for Buyers
- Before committing to a supplier, it's important to do research to make sure they are reputable and have a good track record. Checking online reviews and talking to other businesses in the industry can give you a good idea of what to expect from a particular supplier. Browse the customer feedback on the company's website, or videos, the more trustworthy the videos of normal customer feedback will be.
- If possible, try to visit their factories and related production facilities in person to gain a better understanding of their operations. This will give you a better understanding of their product quality and working conditions.
- Because of the epidemic factor, it is not very convenient to visit the factory on site in these two years, we can make use of WeChat video or other online video to make the contact person of the factory responsible for understanding the actual situation of the factory from the video via online chat.
- If there are other long-term local suppliers, we can also let the local partners help to investigate and understand the reputation of the new suppliers. Local suppliers are easier to operate and can give more references.
- Occasionally there are unscrupulous suppliers who defraud buyers by taking a deposit. Most of these suppliers are disguised and have no actual office or production location. If you let local suppliers help you to visit new suppliers according to their addresses, you can easily judge and identify them, and prevent the danger of being defrauded in advance.
Action Checklist
- Confirm fabric, size grading, and trim specifications before sampling.
- Lock in MOQ, lead time, and quality checkpoints in writing.
- Request pre-production confirmation for labels, packaging, and compliance standards.
- Use a pilot run to validate fit, durability, and customer feedback before scale-up.
If you are planning OEM/ODM underwear sourcing, prepare your tech pack and target quantity first to speed up quotation and sample approval.